A tantric was allegedly killed by a 40-year-old man in Odisha's Jajpur district on Friday for failure to bring back his estranged wife to him as promised, police said.

Santanu Behera had sought the help of Mania Babar to bring his wife back as she had been staying with their two children at her parental house for the past few months after the relationship turned sour, a police officer said.

Behera, a resident of Bandhagaon in Sukinda Police Station area, had paid Rs 5,000 to the tantric, who had promised to bring the woman back, police said.When the 47-year-old visited Behera's house in the afternoon, there was an altercation as the accused demanded a return of his money from the tantric over the failure to fulfill the work.

In a fit of rage, Behera attacked Babar with a sharp weapon and the tantric died on the spot. Later, he surrendered before police with the weapon used in the crime.Sukinda Inspector Kabuli Charan Barik said that the deceased was a nomad who was originally from Maharashtra and was staying with his wife at a rented house in the district.